Learning Multiple Foreign Languages
Many people find it unusual when someone speaks multiple languages. In my case it’s 4 languages: 2 native - Ukrainian, Russian, and 2 foreign - English, German.
Speaking multiple languages makes you a diversified person and makes you look differently this world. It also opens doors to new opportunities and gives you many advantages in life.
When someone asks me “How did you learn…?” 🔗
— How did you learn two foreign languages?
— Well, please name 10 possible ways how one can learn a language.
— Ok.
- Sign up for a course.
- Learn at school(university).
- Hire a tutor.
- Watch movies/series.
- Read books.
- Youtube courses.
- Educational mobile apps.
- Talking to native speakers.
- Listening to music.
- Surround yourself with target language: change language of your phone, PC, etc.
- Take notes.
- Create a dictionary.
— Yes!
— What “yes”?
— Yes! I did all that you mentioned.
Persistence. 🔗
Interesting fact is during such a conversation no one talks about persistence in learning. Since I am 16 y.o. I learn every single day. Even if it’s only 5-10 minutes a day it still counts.
Learning a language is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
Learn as kids do. 🔗
Kid sees a ball 1st time and hears “ball” but has no idea (association) what it is. When kid plays a ball 10-50-100 times and hears same word in a similar situation then it starts to associate playing a ball with the word “ball”. The process of learning is absolutely same for adults.
That’s why I think it’s important to surround yourself with the target language as much as possible:
- translate your phone, PC.
- listen to music.
- watch series.
- search in google using target language.
- read articles.
- if you are a fan of social media - subscribe to foreign influencers.
- if you are a fan of video games - join foreign teams.
Not an act, but a habit. 🔗
If you think that you can learn a language and mark it as completed achievement [x]. I am here to disappoint you that it’s a wrong assumption.
Once you mark it as complete [x] and quit learning, the knowledge slowly fades away. Similar logic applies to training muscles. You have to accept that learning a language should become your habit and stick forever.
Enjoy the process. 🔗
All human beings have an innate instinct called laziness, which is tightly connected to procrastination.
There are many ways to fight laziness but in this article I will just say that you have to enjoy the learning process. There is no silver bullet that will help you learn a language in a few months. However, if you combine learning with joy - the habit is more likely to stick with you.
As many languages you know, as many times you are a human being. © J.W.Goethe